Peony Seafood Restaurant
| Address: | 388 Ninth St #288, Oakland, CA 94607, USA |
| Phone: | +1 510-286-8866 |
| Site: | peony388.com |
| Rating: | 3.7 |
| Working: | 10AM–2:30PM 10AM–2:30PM 10AM–2:30PM 10AM–2:30PM 10AM–2:30PM 10AM–2:30PM 10AM–2:30PM |
Location
Photos 100
Reviews 5
A
A Private User
A few months ago, my uncle made a deposit at the Restaurant Peony in order to reserve three large tables for a special occasion. In the end, he chose not to hold his formal dinner at this restaurant, and in return for his withdrawal of the reservation, Restaurant Peony granted him a "check" for $100 of credit to spend on the restaurant (in the form of a receipt of the $100 deposit made earlier), which was signed and dated by the manager Vincent Kwong on February 19, 2009. There was not expiration date written on the piece of paper. Not long ago (Mothers Day weekend, to be exact), my uncle attempted to use up his $100 of restaurant credit by spending it on some take-out dim sum. He was informed that the restaurants food was not allowed for take-out orders on an extremely busy weekend such as this. He was told that he could stop by another weekend to redeem his $100. Just today, my mother and I visited the Restaurant Peony, and attempted to use up the $100 credit (which was given to her prior by my uncle) on take-out dim sum. Entering the restaurant, we were directed to the cashiers desk, where the receptionist took a look at our receipt, and informed us that she did not know whether the $100 credit was still valid for use. Unsure of what else to tell us, she called upon the manager, Vincent Kwong (the man who signed our receipt), to come speak to us. When my mother again asked if she could use the $100 on take-out dim sum, the manager told her there was no way the restaurant could verify whether or not the $100 dollars had already been used up, and that my mother and I were attempting to swindle the Restaurant Peony out of some money. We then asked whether or not the cashier collected the receipts from customers after the money values written on them had been used up (that would be the sensitive thing to do, would it not?), and were told that the restaurant in fact did not. HOWEVER, written at the bottom of the receipt is a short message stating that the receipt must be surrendered at the time of its use (written in Chinese). According to the manager, the only way the restaurant could verify whether or not the value written on the receipt was not used up is for the customer (in this case, my mother) to call the restaurants accounting department some time Monday-Friday. Yes, the manager Vincent Kwong, who wrote and signed the receipt (which must be surrendered at the time of use, specified on the receipt itself), told us this. Therefore, I highly advise those considering dining at Restaurant Peony to NOT do so, for you never know what might happen when you dine at a restaurant with such fraudulent management...
A
A Private User
My wife, who is Chinese, and I continue to love both the dim sum and the evening fare at Peony since we originally posted this review in March of 2010. We have been eating there regularly for more than ten years. The dim sum is always hot and fresh, unlike many other places. The setting is clean and spacious. Tables are always set with clean table cloth. Our favorite dim-sum dishes include glaze-baked BBQ pork buns, steamed chicken feet, and the numerous hot-wok special kitchen offerings, like dry-fried beef chow fun or salty fish ("hamu") fried rice. Their "Po Tat" egg custard tarts are the best anywhere. Their Hakka pickled veggie fried rice is one of our favorites. The hot rice porridge ("jook") is a great "comfort food", with an unusual variation made with pumpkin also available. For dinner, the two-course Peking Duck is outstanding, as is the steamed fish taken live from the fish tanks - catfish is my favorite but the bass and rock cod are also great. Everything is always hot and delicious. The service is always attentive and friendly, and the staff have become our friends over the years (believe it or not, we are not related to the owners, and were not being paid to write this review!). While other parts of downtown Oakland may not always feel safe after dark, Peony is accessed from the pleasant, well lit, fountain-centered inner courtyard of Pacific Renaissance Plaza, attended by security guards. There is monitored underground parking reasonably priced at $2 an hour. It is a safe elevator ride directly from the underground parking to the restaurant entrance on the second floor, overlooking the courtyard. See you there!
A
A Private User
Their management and service is pretty much a joke. One of my family members made a deposit in the restaurant for a banquet, but had to cancel a few days later, so they assured us that we could use the money at a later time. We tried using it on Mothers Day, but they turned us away, claiming that we couldnt use it during a busy holiday. So we just tried again recently, but they once again denied us service because they said they couldnt verify the deposit (we showed them the original receipt with the managers signature). They claimed that we may have used it before and just tried to use it again, which is pretty ridiculous because in most cases, the restaurant will take the receipt once youve used it. Apparently this wasnt the case with Peony because they wont take back their own paperwork. This makes even less sense since the receipt itself has a part printed that says you have to return the receipt once you have used the money. So they told us that wed have to contact their accounting department, which we then learned isnt even open on the weekend. After talking with their receptionist for a few minutes, they decided to bring in the manager, who pretty much repeated the exact same information. Personally, I think with a business policy like that, they wont get a lot of repeat customers. As for the food (which Ive had a few times in the past), it was only average, if that. Maybe even below average seeing as how Chinatown has such a huge selection to choose from. You can easily find other places with better food and lower prices. If at all possible, avoid Peony and youll save yourself a frustrating experience.
ST
Stephanie Ouyoumjian
They lost our reservation. Once seated, we waited 45 minutes to take our order after asking three times for our waiter to come. By then, they ran out of half the dishes we ordered and didnt tell us until our other food was already done. So half the people at our table didnt have any food and had to hurry to order something else. The WORST part is that the food was TERRIBLE. Sweet and sour chicken was all pieces of fat. no meat. when we complained, they said thats just how they make it and we sent it back. The other dishes had no flavor. We ordered rice and never got it. With so many great places to eat in China Town, theres no reason anyone should have to go to this place. PS. Decor was boring, like a Furrs cafeteria. And you have to pay for parking... They dont validate. And its upstairs in any ugly outdoor strip center shopping area. Definitely not a good place to take a date or any other sort of special occasion.
FE
Fei Li
Lets be clear here. If a dim sum restaurant is the de facto choice of Cantonese grandmothers, that restaurant is awesome. Introducing Peony yall! Peony Restaurant is without a doubt the most upscale dim sum restaurant in Oakland Chinatown. The tables are clean, the lighting is bright, and the venue is preferred for family banquets and celebrations. Heck, the place was even packed for lunch on a Tuesday at 1pm. This place caters to Chinese people that know how to order dim sum. Move aside newbies! Most people order their dim sum in Chinese from the waitresses or hand them a checked off dim sum sheet. The crowd that Peony serves do not rely solely on dim sum carts. (Carts are not cost efficient. Why would you make food that people might not buy?) Because of the quality of the dim sum and the nicer venue, the prices are expectedly much higher. Ill show you how it works next time! Your treat?
